Bauru x Campinas: Superliga final has Brazil x Argentina in a duel of highest scorers | volleyball

Minas Gerais sovereignty – which dominated the last two years in the men’s Super League – left the scene. The interior of São Paulo, represented by Bauru and Campinas, reappeared in this tournament final, scheduled for 10 am this Sunday (28), at Ginásio Geraldão, in Recife. The capital of Pernambuco is the first city in the Northeast to receive a tournament decision and should repeat the success of the clash between Minas and Praia Clube, held last week, in the women’s tournament.

Globo, sportv 2 and ge will broadcast the final of the women’s volleyball Super League this Sunday (21), at 10am, at Ginásio Geraldão, in Recife (PE).

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Bauru was third in the classification phase, behind only São José and Cruzeiro, the leader who was looking for a third consecutive championship. Bauru – which in June 2023 left its headquarters in the capital of São Paulo and moved the project to the interior – advanced to the next stage led by young Darlan Souza, who emerged for the Brazilian team in 2023. The player converted 604 points in the tournament, is the top scorer and the best server in the Superliga and should be called up to compete in the Paris Olympics. The team also has Éder, gold medalist at Rio 2016, with the promising Lukas Bergmann, and is led by coach Anderson Rodrigues, who climbed to the top of the podium in Athens 2004.

Campinas, in turn, advanced in eighth place to the next phase. In the quarterfinals, they eliminated the favorite Cruzeiro in an electrifying clash, 3-2. The victory against the then championship leader raised the level of confidence of the team who, in the semi-final, defeated Guarulhos. Led on the court by the experienced Maurício Borges, gold medalist at Rio 2016, coach Horacio Dileo’s team also has the promising Adriano, the Argentine captain Demian González and his compatriot “hermano” Bruno Lima, the second highest scorer this season. The opposite, in fact, was the one who scored the most points at the Tokyo Olympics and won the bronze medal at the Games.

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Bauru is seeking its second title in the Men’s Volleyball Super League. In the 2010/2011 season, when it was still based in the capital of São Paulo, the team won the competition for the first time. Campinas, runner-up in the 2015/2016 edition, is trying for an unprecedented title.

The rivalry between Brazil and Argentina will be present, mainly, in the duel of the highest scorers in this edition. Darlan, from Bauru, and “hermano” Bruno Lima, from Campinas, totaled more than 1000 points throughout the competition. The Brazilian, who has been a constant presence in the national team’s squad, hopes to take not only the title, but also an advantage in this separate clash.

– It will be a very good duel (laughs). He’s a really good opposite, he was third in the Olympics. It will be difficult to stop him, but we will do everything we can to minimize the number of points he will score. I really hope it gives Brazil. His team has some Argentines, like the coach and the setter… May the best win, whoever does the most, whoever deserves the most. I hope it’s Sesi Bauru, I hope Brazil wins (laughs) – said the star, who broke a record by scoring 48 points in a single game of the tournament.

Scorer of 460 points in the current Superliga season, Bruno Lima, who like Darlan is looking for his first trophy of the event, has good memories of Ginásio Geraldão. It was there that, in 2023, he won the South American Championship wearing the Argentine shirt against Brazil.

– It’s a mystique of the sport, rivalry is also in volleyball, but the most important thing is to win. The gym is huge, it can accommodate a lot of people, the fans are noisy. It’s a beautiful place to play.

On the bench there is also a confrontation between Brazil and Argentina. And, above all, a dispute between friends and rivals Anderson Rodrigues, Bauru coach, and Campinas commander, Horacio Dileo. The Brazilian coach, collector of hopscotch titles in the early 2000s, emphasizes that the rivalry is healthy and speaks fondly of his professional colleague.

– We have been friends since he arrived in Brazil. We took a course in Uberlândia in 2012. I have a lot of affection for him, he is a great person, a great technician. We exchange messages. The rivalry only goes so far, I can’t exceed his limit, nor can he exceed mine. We respect each other. Within the game there is a cordiality between knights. I bet on Sesi Bauru (laughs), we had a more solid campaign, but they will come in as snipers, as they finished in eighth place.

Horacio Dileo praised the work done by Anderson Rodrigues at the head of Bauru and stressed that rivalry, in whatever sphere, cannot cross the line and turn into disrespect.

– We got to know each other better on a technical course. He is a wonderful person. I’m very happy that he managed to get Sesi into the final. His loyalty, honesty, his conviction in his work… It was the team that improved the most in the second part of the year, I told him that. They want to beat us, and we want to beat them. Rivalry is normal. The only thing I don’t accept in rivalry is aggression, disrespect – explained the commander, who supports River Plate when it comes to football.

The final of the men’s Super League, the first to be held in the Northeast, will be broadcast on open TV. The competition – the last between clubs before the Nations League and the Olympic Games – serves as a showcase for players trying to attract the attention of the national team’s technical committee or even teams from abroad. Lukas Bergmann, chosen as the star of the last match of the semi-final, is among the 30 names on the list released by Bernardinho, Brazil’s coach, and believes that a performance in the final can help him highlight his work.

– This is Bernardinho and the committee’s decision, but a good decision on the part of the team and myself can also help with the call-up and create a place in the Nations League and even in Paris. It is every athlete’s dream to participate in the Olympics. I have never participated in the VNL (League of Nations), it would be a big step. I focus on these two steps, I believe in the work. But if the opportunity doesn’t come, that’s okay, I’m still young.

Bauru and Campinas have one factor in common outside the four lines: the presence of Olympic champions at the Athens Games in 2004. Anderson Rodrigues, Bauru’s coach, has been an important part in building the team for many years. He was captain of the first men’s team in the 2009/2010 season. In 2020, he returned to the club to work with the youth teams and to assist Marcelo Negrão in the first team.

At Campinas, ex-setter Mauricio Lima, who was born in the city and defended the club that at the time had another name, and ex-central Gaucho André Heller work in the management area. Both were Anderson’s teammates at the Olympics and will meet again in Recife.

Recife was the city chosen to host the women’s and men’s Superliga finals in 2024. And the capital of Pernambuco, although it has no representative in the decision, has players born in the region. Dozens of friends and family are expected to attend the decision.

Bauru has Thiery, born in Campina Grande (PB), Thiaguinho, also from Paraíba, from the capital João Pessoa, and Vinicius Piauí, who is from Teresina. Campinas, in turn, has Maurício Borges from Alagoas, gold medalist at Rio 2016, and Lucas Borges, from João Pessoa.

TV Globo commentator, former Libero Fabi, two-time Olympic champion, analyzes the final between Bauru and Campinas, two very different storylines that led to the decision.

– It’s a surprising final, these are teams that surpassed themselves in the championship. Bauru was more linear throughout the season. There is the main highlight, which is Darlan, and the affirmation of Lukas Bergmann, a super young player, full of expectations. Thiaguinho led the team alongside Éder, an Olympic champion. This final will be very interesting.

– Campinas is one of those stories that leaves you impressed. It has Demian González, the only one remaining from the club’s only final, with Bruno Lima, the highest scorer at the Tokyo Olympics, there was Adriano’s growth… There are a lot of interesting things on both sides, stories of overcoming. It’s a final that perhaps no one would have bet on at first, but both arrive with merit.

Gold medalist at Rio 2016, William Arjona, volleyball commentator for TV Globo, sees a match without favoritism and, due to the balance, does not believe in a 3-0 score, for example.

– It’s a completely open clash, because both teams reached the final stage well. Campinas had a hard time, but they were gaining morale and are coming very strong. There’s Mauricio Borges providing great stability in the passing line, Demian González, Adriano, Lukinha… the team fit together. Sesi Bauru was more stable. I like the balance with a more experienced setter, Thiaguinho, in a very good season. There is Éder and Guiga, a more experienced center and a pointer, who “hold the punch”. The opposite is going through a special moment in his career, breaking records, which is Darlan. Lukas Bergmann is having a spectacular season. Pureza, for me, is one of the best liberos in the Superliga, as is Lukinha, from Campinas. It’s an open game, I don’t see favoritism on either side. It’s going to be very competitive, we’re unlikely to see a 3-0.